After the orcs
by Starship T.A.R.D.I.S
Summary: She remembers screams, then blood, then pain, then nothing.
1. Chapter 1

Quick note: Ada means Daddy and Nana means Mommy in Sindarin.

Thranduil entered the Halls of Healing. There had been an orc attack on an outlying village a few days ago. The survivors had recently returned to the Hall. He was going to see that status of the injured.

"My lord." the head healer, Sanewen, said.

"Sanewen. How do the injured fare?" Thranduil asked.

"Most are in good condition. There is one, a girl called Tauriel, who I fear for. She received a deep cut to the abdomen. The villagers told me that she did not wake up when they traveled here, and they had to carry her. They also told me that her parents and brother died in the attack. She has not woken up since the attack." Sanewen reported.

"Take me to her." Thranduil ordered. Sanewen guided him to the children's ward. There was a sole occupant in the room. A small red haired elfling slept in one of the beds, her hair contrasting sharply with the stark whiteness of the pillow. She seemed small and frail, her skin pale. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to sleep peacefully. Thranduil walked over to the bed.

"Hello little one." he said. Tauriel did not stir. Thranduil bent over the elfling, examining the bandaged cut on her stomach. If the bandage was anything to go by, it was a horrible would, one that no elfling should have to endure. His hair tickled Tauriel's cheek. She opened her eyes slowly. Her stomach hurt. She was in some place that wasn't home. Where was her Ada? Where was her Nana? She took in the sight of a mane of blond hair before her. Her Ada had hair that color. Maybe he was here.

"Ada?" she asked, her voice small and weak. The source of the hair turned it's head to face her. Thranduil straightened up.

"No. I'm not your Ada." Thranduil said, his voice full of sympathy for the young elfling.

"Where is he? Where's Nana?" Tauriel asked. Her voice was twinged with worry. She remembered screams, then a sharp pain, then blood, then nothing. She wanted her Nana, or her Ada, or her doll, something, anything from home. She didn't even know where she was. Thranduil looked at Sanewen, wondering if he should tell the elfling about the fate of her parents. Sanewen nodded. The elfling would have to know sooner or later.

"Your parents are dead. I'm sorry." Thranduil said sympathetically.

"What do you mean, dead?" Tauriel asked. "We live in Horar. Me and Nana and Ada and Benion. Don't we?" She felt a sudden flash of guilt for not thinking of Benion sooner.

"Not anymore. Your village was destroyed by orcs. Your parents and Benion died in the attack." Thranduil explained. He hoped he didn't have to explain the concept of death to the elfling. She couldn't be more then twenty, it was quite possible that she had never encountered before.

"No, no! They have to be alive! They have to! Benion promised that he would stay with me when Nana and Ada told us to go and hide! He promised!" Tauriel cried. She was very close to crying now. Benion had to be alive, he had promised he would stay with her forever! The man had to be lying. He didn't even tell her his name.

"I'm sorry. They are dead. You will never see them again." Thranduil said. It was best to be blunt, he hoped.

"No!" Tauriel cried. "They're still alive! You just haven't found them! Let me go look for them!" She had to prove that her family was still alive, had to find them. She couldn't live without them. She tried to get out of bed, but could barely sit up without becoming dizzy and making the wound on her stomach hurt.

"Lay down." Sanewen said, rushing over to keep the elfling from hurting herself further. She gently but firmly moved the elfling back into bed.

"No! They can't be dead!" the elfling cried. She started to cry. They couldn't be dead, no! Sanewen tried to comfort her, but she could not be comforted. Her grief knew no bounds, and she could not stop.

"You're all right, we'll take care of you, shh, shh..." Sanewen said, muttering soothing nonsense as she held Tauriel close. What the elfling needed was a mother, and though Sanewen had no children of her own, she had comforted enough crying children in her time as head healer to know what to do. Hours later, Tauriel had managed to cry herself to sleep. Thranduil had long since left, and Sanewen left as well. She had missed dinner while comforting Tauriel, and wanted to get a good meal and some sleep before she returned to the Halls of Healing to take another shift. She was worried about the elfling. Families had close bonds, and breaking those bonds could be devastating.

Tauriel let out a small scream as she woke. She had been dreaming that she was on a picnic with her family in their favorite clearing but then orcs came and Nana and Ada were telling her and Benion to go hide without saying why and then they were screaming and the orcs found her and Benion and then he was covered in blood and then there was pain and she was covered in blood and then she woke up. The nightmare made everything that happened all that more real. She was alone. She had no family. In the entire world, there was no one who loved her. The realization was crushing. She knew the blonde man, whoever he was, wasn't lying. She felt the absence of her family like a hole in her heart. The elfling sobbed into her pillow. No one came to comfort her. She was truly alone.

* * *

Hi! Yes, I'm starting another multichap fic when I haven't finished my current one. Don't worry, both will get finished, and it hopefully won't be too long between updates. There will be trigger warnings for slight thoughts of suicide in later chapters, and I will leave a note at the chapters. Remember to review, favorite, and follow! Starship T.A.R.D.I.S. out!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! Quick update on the posting for this story and all others. This story and all of my other ones are going to be on a temporary hiatus for the summer. I won't have much time to write, but updates will be coming in the fall. Starship T.A.R.D.I.S. out!


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning!" Sanewen said brightly, attempting to cheer the elfling up. It had no effect on said elfling. Sanewen brought the breakfast tray that she carried with her over to the elfling. "Would you like some breakfast?" she asked.

"No thank you." Tauriel said. It wasn't that she wasn't hungry, it was that she didn't want to eat. She missed her family.

"Are you sure? You need to keep your strength up so you can heal." Sanewen said. She knew Tauriel probably hadn't eaten for a few days. If she had been unconscious on the way here, then she wouldn't have eaten for three days. The elfling would eat when she was hungry enough, but in the meantime, Sanewen needed to look at her wound.

"I'm sure." Tauriel said.

"I need to look at your wound." Sanewen said. Tauriel nodded, and pushed the blankets away from her. Sanewen lifted up Tauriel's shirt to expose her abdomen. She carefully unwrapped the bandages, and found that blood had spotted the fabric almost immediately. It seemed that the herbs that Sanewen had applied to the wound had not done their job. The wound was still tender when Sanewen probed it, and Tauriel winced in pain. Sanewen applied more herbs, rebandaged the wound, and left Tauriel alone. Tauriel hated being alone. That only left her to her own thoughts, and that was dangerous. Tauriel could not help but think of her family, and how they were dead. She wished that they were alive with her or she dead with them. She missed them so much, and she couldn't keep the tears back. Tauriel curled up in a small ball and wept.

"Lunchtime!" Sanewen said as she entered into the room. At first, she thought that Tauriel had somehow left until she saw a small lump under the covers in Tauriel's bed. Sanewen put the tray she was carrying down on a table and approached the bed. She lifted up the blankets, to reveal Tauriel, curled into a ball on her side, her body shaking with the force of her sobs. Tauriel lifted her head to reveal a tear stained face when she felt the blankets lift from her body.

"Tauriel?" Sanewen asked, hoping that she would be able to comfort the elfling as she moved to embrace the elfling. The elfling did not respond, only curled back up tighter, and sobbed again.

"It's all right." Sanewen said soothingly as she smoothed the hair of the small elfling in her arms, hoping to comfort Tauriel.

Tauriel was sleeping once more. Sanewen eased the elfling out of her arms and covered her with a blanket. Sanewen made up her mind. Tauriel had to be around people more often. Tauriel had only been in the Hall for a few days, but Sanewen could tell the loneliness was getting to her. Elven family bonds functioned in such a way that an elf could always feel that their family was there. As such, elves never felt true loneliness, as they always felt the presence of their family. Bonds were only broken when a family member died. When the bonds were broken, the loss could quite literally kill. Sanewen was afraid that the elfling might die because of the broken bonds, her would, or the loneliness, unless Sanewen could find her some friends. Going to school might help. Being around other elflings might help Tauriel feel less lonely. It might also help in the healing of the wound. Grief sometimes impeded healing a wound, and no matter how many herbs were put on it, the wound would refuse to heal if the elf was too lost in grief. Sanewen was afraid that that might happen to Tauriel.

Tauriel dreamed the dream again. It was just as scary, or worse. The dream made her want to disappear, curl into a ball and fade away. Every time she saw her family it was followed by death, almost like a curse in a fairy story. Maybe she was cursed to die. Maybe she was cursed to live. Living without her family was like living without half of her body. It hurt, and she couldn't even remember her family without remembering their deaths. Tauriel almost didn't want to live anymore, wanted to join them in death so she wouldn't be alone anymore. It felt like no one cared about her like her family did, like no one ever would. She was lonely, terrified, and sad.

The problem with school, it seemed, was that Tauriel could not yet get out of bed. Her wound seemed to prohibit most movement. Tauriel couldn't even raise her arms to braid her own hair without her wound hurting. Sanewen tried her best to get the elfling to move as much as she could, so her muscles would not become weak. Two weeks later, Tauriel had managed to walk enough to be able to go to school.

"Everyone, this is Tauriel. She is a new student from Aneron and will be joining us for the rest of the year." the teacher said. Tauriel walked, albeit slowly, to her desk at the back of the room. Everyone stared at her. Tauriel knew why. It was because she was different. Her hair was red, she couldn't move quickly and with grace like most Elves because of her wound, and she was a bit thicker around the waist then most elves, but that was because of the bandage. Her wound had still not healed, and might have gotten worse. Sanewen didn't know why, but it might have been from moving too much. Tauriel took her seat and the teacher started the lesson on the history of the Eldar. Today's lesson happened to be on the Fëanorians and the Kinslayings. The thing that the teacher said that resonated most strongly with the elflings was that most of the Fëanorians had red hair. When that particular fact was mentioned, all of the elflings turned to stare at Tauriel and her waist length red hair. She shrunk back into her seat and looked at the ground, trying to ignore the whispers of "kinslayer" and "traitor" that came from the mouths of her classmates. She hadn't been alive then, it was an entirely different Age! She was a Sylvian Elf, not one of the Noldor, Tauriel thought to herself as she bit her lip to keep from crying. There were plenty of other Elves in Mirkwood that had red hair, and not all of the were descended from Fëanor, and she certainly wasn't! She wasn't a kinslayer, and she wanted to tell the other elflings that, but the teacher had said at the beginning of class that interruptions were not tolorated. Tauriel didn't want to get in trouble on the first day of class, so she suffered the whispers of the other elflings in silence.

Lunch. Tauriel sat with a few of her new classmates. They ignored her. They didn't even acknowledge her presence with a nod or a greeting when she sat down, and instead talked about her as though she did not sit next to them. At recess, Tauriel was left alone. None of the other elflings even approached her, and she couldn't join in any of their games, as that would require running, which she couldn't do. Tauriel felt more lonely then ever. She was surrounded by Elves, but she couldn't be more isolated. She was the only one who had lost any family members in the attack on her village, and she had lost everyone. Even her friends from Aneron ignored her. They had made other friends while she was in the Halls of Healing and had forgotten about her. Some asked if she wanted to play with them, but she told them that she couldn't. They didn't ask why, and she didn't offer an explanation. They all knew that she was badly hurt after the attack, but they didn't know the details. Their parents had not told them how dire Tauriel's situation was for fear of scaring them. So Tauriel sat alone in the shadows, while she watched the other elflings play and wished she was one of them. Wished she still had a family. Wished someone loved her. Wished someone cared about her.

The afternoon lessons passed without note. Tauriel slowly made her way to the Halls of Healing once more, tiny shoulders slumped with defeat. She had made no friends. No one had talked to her, and she had been too afraid to talk to them. She was feeling more lonely then ever. Sanewen saw her small charge walking dejectedly down the hallway. Immediately she knew something was wrong. Something had happened while the elfling was at school. Sanewen was puzzled. Usually, letting elflings go to school helped them to feel better, at least a bit, since they were around Elves their own age.

"Tauriel?" Sanewen asked. She needed to find out what happened. Tauriel ignored her and went strait to the children's ward, and laid down in her bed. She took shaky breaths as she remembered the events of the past day. The stares, people ignoring her, and her old friends abandoning her had all taken a heavy toll on the elfling. She thought she couldn't be more alone after she found out her parents died, but now this social isolation just added to it. The tears started to fall. She didn't know what she was even going to do. With no Nana and Ada it seemed like she would never have a true home again. Nana would never bake her another birthday cake again, and Ada would never teach her how to shoot when she was twenty five, like he promised he would. The tears fell faster. No more Saturday afternoon picnics at the clearing, no more trying to stay up all night at the winter solstice with Benion to try and see who brought the gifts. Nothing.

Sanewen found Tauriel drenched in her own tears, but sleeping, a few hours later. Sanewen supposed that she would find out what happened when the elfling woke. Sanewen had noted that Tauriel hadn't been sleeping very much, and would often wake with puffy eyes, as though she had been crying in the night. Sanewen felt awful that the elfling was going through so much grief, but there was nothing she could do to help her. Tauriel had not yet faded, but seemed to grieve more as time went on. Nothing really helped the elfling. It seemed like every day was another day without her parents, and without love. Each day that passed Tauriel grew more and more withdrawn. She barely talked now, and when she did, her voice sounded hollow, as though she were broken inside. She sometimes simply refused to eat for days at a time. A month later, Tauriel could barely get out of bed. All she wanted was her parents, and they were dead. It seemed as though she had made up her mind to join them in death. Sanewen tried her best to prevent this, but the elfling's gaze eventually became blank and uncaring. All she did was sit in her bed, not even crying any more. It was as though she had given up on life, love, and hope.

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Hi! So I said I wouldn't be posting, but I had some time to write and this happened. There'll be about another chapter of sadness, then things will start to get better. If you're curious (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), the Kinslayings were a series of wars between the Noldor Elves and the rest of the Elves and they basically were caused by Fëanor and/or his descendants, most of which had red hair. I thought I'd put that in there because why not. Let me know if I have any information about the whole Kinslaying thing wrong, I learned about it from the Wikipedia page, so I'm not entirely sure if what I have is correct or if I understood it properly. Remember to follow, favorite, and review! Starship T.A.R.D.I.S. out!


	4. Chapter 4

**Trigger warning: suicide**

Thranduil entered the Halls of Healing once more. He had not been here since he last saw the girl Tauriel, the one who thought he was her Ada. Sanewen had asked him to come. Apparently, the elfling was doing worse then when he had last seen her.

"Sanewen." Thranduil said.

"My lord." Sanewen replied.

"How is the elfling?" Thrnaduil asked.

"She...she is not well. Her wound still has not healed, in fact, it is getting worse despite my best efforts to close it, and...I fear she may succumb to her grief. She has become nearly apathetic. She rarely talks, but when she does, she sounds as though she is broken inside. She sometimes will simply refuse to eat. She can barely get out of bed. I fear—and I believe—that she longs for death. It seems that her fea is still attached strongly to this world and will not let her fade, but her mind has decided that she desires death so she can be with her family in Mandos." Sanewen said, tears forming in her eyes at the thought of losing the young elfling. She had become quite attached to the little girl.

"This is grave indeed. May I see her?" Thranduil asked. Thranduil did not want to lose an elfling, especially one so young. His youngest son was a few years older then Tauriel, and he was so full of life compared to how the elfling was described. The girl had not even come of age yet, and she was near death.

"Of course." Sanewen said, and led him once more to the children's ward.

"Hello again." Thranduil said, smiling at Tauriel, who was sitting upright in her bed. He was given only a blank stare in return.

"How are you feeling?" Thranduil asked.

"It hurts." Tauriel said sadly.

"What hurts?" Thranduil questioned.

"My heart." Tauriel said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Thranduil swallowed the urge to hug the young elfling. Instead, he waited for her to continue. "I don't have a Nana anymore, or an Ada. My brother is dead too. I'm lonely, and I miss them, and I'm scared the orcs might come for me now. I want my Nana, but she's not here anymore, and neither is Ada, and I don't feel like anyone cares about me. I...I just want a friend. None of the other elflings will even talk to me, and it seems like I'm some kind of outcast. I just want my family, but every time I try to remember them, I just remember them dying. I almost want to die so I can be with them...it just hurts to be alone. I don't have anything to remind me of home, of my family. It feels like there is no one who loves me in the entire world." Tauriel didn't know why she was telling the ellon this. She didn't even know his name, but she felt like she could trust him.

Thranduil felt horrible for the elfling. His youngest was the complete opposite of the girl, full of life, energy, and laughter, but the elfing seemed to have given up on happiness. What she needed, Thranduil realized, was a family. Someone to care for her, not in a physical sense, but an emotional one. Someone to love her, and stay with her, even if she was asleep. He had to find her a family, but how? He didn't know of any families that wanted another child but could not have one. He suddenly heard his wife's voice in his head. "I've always wanted a little girl, but I don't think I can have another child." The words resonated in Thranduil's mind, and he started to wonder how his wife would feel about adopting Tauriel, and a slow smile spread across his face. That would be something to bring up at dinner tonight, but in the meantime, he could offer a friend.

"You don't have to be alone." Thranduil said softly. "I have a son, Legolas, who is a few years older then you. He is twenty five, and it is time for him to begin archery lessons. He would be honored if you would join him."

"Really?" Tauriel said. Her voice, Thranduil noted, sounded hopeful. Maybe she hadn't quite given up on life after all. It seemed that she was excited about the prospect of learning archery.

"Ada said that I had to be twenty five before he would teach me archery." She tried not to let the tears that pricked at her eyes fall at the memories of the many times she had tried to convince him to let her start early. She had always wanted to learn how to shoot, she had grown up watching her Ada be able to hit nearly any target.

"You can start now." Thranduil said with a smile.

"When?" Tauriel asked. She was most definitely interested in archery, and maybe she could make a friend. It could be as the ellon said—she didn't have to be alone.

"Well, first you need to heal. But as soon as you are well enough, you can start." Thranduil said.

"Oh." Tauriel said, seeming to deflate. She wanted to start now, but she couldn't. It made sense though. She was still weak and her wound bled more often then not.

"Don't worry, I think you will recover soon enough." Thranduil said. Tauriel had to agree with him. She now had something to look forward to, something other then a life of loneliness and grief.

"Ok." Tauriel said. She was still excited to start archery, and maybe she could make friends with the ellon's son, Legolas. It would be nice, to not be alone. Thranduil left the Halls of Healing. He would definitely have something to talk about at dinner tonight.

Legolas was worried. His father had explicitly told him not to be late to dinner tonight. That usually meant he had Something To Discuss. It wasn't often that everyone was told to be on time, usually no one particularly minded when they came, so long as they ate. This probably meant that Legolas was in Trouble, and big trouble. He couldn't remember doing anything wrong though. He had reluctantly stopped putting dye in the soap that was used to clean his father's elk. It had been very amusing to Legolas to see the elk turn pink, but his father was not pleased. Legolas had felt the extent of Thranduil's wrath the night they discovered it was him at dinner. Well, if Legolas hadn't messed up, then maybe Sadron did. Sadron was his older brother, and was also quite annoying. Sadron was always studying, and never wanted to do anything interesting. He always said he wanted to be a scholar or something boring like that. Legolas wanted to be a warrior. He was always bored when his tutor came to teach him his lessons, and couldn't wait to go and play with his friends, or play pranks on other people. It was always funny to see their reactions, except for the part when his father found out and yelled at him. That part wasn't so fun. Legolas looked at the clock. He realized he had less then five minutes to make it to dinner before he was late. He ran to the dining room, and paused at the door to straighten his tunic and catch his breath before walking into the room.

"Legolas." Thranduil said as the servants began to bring in the first course.

"Yes Ada?" Legolas asked. This was it. If he was in trouble, now he would find out what he did.

"We need to discuss your archery lessons." Thranduil stated. Legolas started. He had been looking forward to them for years! He had to have them!

"Someone will be joining you." Thranduil said, noting his son's sudden calmness. Legolas was relieved he would still have his lessons, but if it was Sadron that was joining him, he would teach himself. Then again, archery might be the one place where he could show up his older brother.

"Who?" Legolas asked, hoping that it wasn't Sadron.

"A girl called Tauriel." Thranduil said.  
"Who?" Legolas asked, confused. He didn't know anyone called Tauriel.

"She is a few years younger then you. Her village was destroyed by orcs, and her family was killed. She shows an interest in archery, and will be joining you in your lessons." Thranduil said. If his family reacted well to this, he would bring up the possibility of her becoming a part of their family.

"The poor child." Galasriniel, Thranduil's wife, said. She immediately felt sympathy for the girl. Living without a family was hard. She herself knew that. Her father had been killed in battle, and she remembered what it felt like, and she had only lost one parent. It was a small thing, compared to what the girl had lost. She could only imagine how the poor thing must feel. Legolas was going to protest, and say that it was not fair that she could start when she was younger then him, but his mother's reaction told him that that might not be a good thing.

"When was the attack?" Sadron asked.

"About a month ago. She has been in the Halls of Healing ever since." Thranduil said.

"A whole month? Why?" Legolas asked, curious. She couldn't have taken that long to heal, even if she were near death it would only take a week for her to heal.

"She has lost her whole family, Legolas, and she is grieving. You should know that grief makes it hard for wounds to heal." Sadron said, in a tone that made it seem obvious. Legolas glared at his know-it-all brother.

"Exactly." Thranduil said, with an approving glance at his heir. "I think that what she needs to recover fully is a family. Our family." The Elvenking tensed, awaiting his family's reaction to his words.

"Oh!" Galasriniel gasped. She had always wanted a daughter, not that she didn't love her sons. "I...I think that would be wonderful!"

"Legolas?" Thranduil asked. Legolas thought it would be nice to have a sister, so long as she wasn't scared of frogs or anything like some of the elleths at court were.

"I think I'd like that." Legolas said.

"It would be nice to have a sibling who didn't constantly prank me." Sadron said, unable to resist a jibe at his younger brother, who sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Then it is agreed. We will welcome her into our family. Shall we go see her tomorrow?" Thranduil asked.

"Yes!" Galasriniel said excitedly. She was already mentally listing the things that she would take to the visit tomorrow. She wondered if Tauriel liked dresses, or sewing, or if she was more bookish like Sadron or a little warrior like Leoglas. She couldn't wait to spend some time with the girl. She had grown up with all brothers, and had never really had a chance to do any of the girly things that she enjoyed so much.

"All right." Legolas said.

"Sure." Sadron agreed.

"Excellent. I will tell Sanewen that we will come tomorrow afternoon." Thranduil said.

"What does she look like?" Galasriniel asked.

"She had red hair that goes to her waist, and green eyes. I don't know her height, I haven't seen her out of bed yet." Thranduil said.

"She sounds pretty." Legolas said, not meaning to say it. Sadron would tease him for ages.

"You sound like you like her!" Sadron said, an impish tone in his voice. The rest of the dinner continued on like that, with Sadron teasing Legolas and Thranduil and Galasriniel discussing arrangements to have the elfling brought to live with them.

Tauriel was sad. Even though she would be able to start archery soon, and maybe make a friend, it would take too long for her to heal. She needed a friend, needed a family, needed to love, be loved, feel loved. It would take to long. Her situation was hopeless, really. No family. No friends. No one to care about her or take care of her. She wanted to be happy again, she truly did, but she couldn't be happy, not without her family. She so desperately wanted to see her Nana again, or her Ada, or Benion, just someone who reminded her of the days when she was happy! Sure, she saw them in dreams, but that was in _the_ dream, the one of them dying, and that just made her feel worse. She tried to remember happy things but the bad things, the demons, kept chipping away at the happy things until there wasn't any left. Just sadness, loneliness, fear. Her constant companions. What wouldn't she give to take them away and make them her family again! She would give her life to have her family back together again, have them alive and well and with her. She would do anything to have them alive or her dead with them...anything.

Galasriniel was excited to meet Tauriel. So were Legolas, Sadron and Thranduil. Thranduil hoped that the girl's wound would not scare his sons, for they were young and not used to blood or battle. No matter, it would be well bandaged, and covered by a blanket, and his sons had managed to injure themselves before. It would not be the first time that they had seen blood, just not in large quantities. Legolas had sneaked off into the woods earlier, unknown to his parents, and had brought a frog, carefully concealed in a small box in his pocket. He wanted to find out if Tauriel was afraid of frogs. Most of the elleth in court were, even though they said they weren't. He had found that the best way to see if they were scared was to bring a frog. Sadron was curious to meet the elfling. He knew she was younger then Legolas, but she still might have a favorite book that they could talk about, and he could recommend a few, since she was stuck in bed.

The four elves of the royal family approached the Halls of Healing. Thranduil guided them to the children's ward, noting that Sanewen was not there to greet them, as she usually was. He went to the door that led to Tauriel's room, but he was stopped by a junior healer, Vanyafrom entering.

"My lord, I am sorry, but you cannot enter." Vanya said, worry in her voice.

"Why not? Never has entrance been denied to me in my own kingdom." Thranduil said, curious as to why he could not enter.

"It is the elfling. She is worse, much worse. I will explain, however, it is not suitable for children to hear." Vanya said, looking at the two princes.

"I see." Thranduil said hesitantly. He needed to know what was wrong with the elfling, but most everything could be said in front of his sons, except for a few things that no elfling should know.

"Sadron, Legolas, go to our rooms. We will meet you there." Galasriniel said, also worried for the fate of the elfling. Once Legolas and Sadron were out of sight, Thranduil asked Vanya what happened to the elfling.

"She is near death, and may perish at any moment. Somehow, during the night, she repoened her wound. It is worse, much worse now. Sanewen has not yet been able to control the bleeding, and if it does not stop, then the elleth will die."

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Yes, it's dark. It may get darker, but probably not. We'll find out more next chapter. Remember to review, favorite, and follow! Starship T.A.R.D.I.S. out!


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: mild gore**

Tauriel opened her eyes. There was no pain anymore. She looked around. She was in a vast, dark wilderness. She could hear laughter and music coming from somewhere, but she couldn't tell where. She turned around in a circle, but still couldn't see anyone. She could see little circles of light. She didn't know who the people were, in them but each group in the circles seemed to be related, like a family. She was struck by a sudden longing for her family. Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her. Her Nana's voice.

"Tauriel, winima tinu, we are over here." Caladwen, Tauriel's Nana, called. She was standing at the edge of a circle of light behind Tauriel, near what seemed to be a door. She opened it, and light spilled out, illuminating the path from the elfling to the door, and Tauriel's shadow spread long in the beam of light. Tauriel squinted in the bright light, but could make out the figures of Morcion, her Ada, and Benion, her brother. Tauriel ran towards the door, a huge smile on her face. "Nana! Ada! Benion!" she called, her pace increasing as her hair blew in the wind of her own making as she ran to her family. She was so happy, so incredibly happy, she had her family again! That was the only thing that she wanted, and now she had them, and now she could be happy again! She ran into her mother's arms, and her whole family crushed her in a hug.

Sanewen exited Tauriel's room. Her hands were still stained red with Tauriel's blood, though she had done her best to rid herself of the elfling's blood. She was exhausted. Sanewen had first entered the room five hours ago, to find the blankets stained with a pool of blood and Tauriel lying limp in the middle of it. Sanewen had dropped the breakfast tray she was carrying in shock, and ran to the elfling's bedside. She immediately checked for a pulse. It took her nearly a minute to find it, though she was an experienced healer. Tauriel's chest still rose and fell, though slightly, and so slow as to be nearly imperceptible.

"Vanya!" Sanewen cried sharply. She needed help, and fast if she were to save the elfling's life.

"What is it?" Vanya asked, as she entered the room. Once she did, no more words needed to be said. A small squeak of surprise and fear came from Vanya, and her eyes were wide. It was obvious that the elfling was near death, if not already dead.

"Is-is she alive?" Vayna asked, her voice trembling for fear of what had happened to the elfling.

"Barely." Sanewen said, her voice and expression grim. "Get me warm water, cloths, bandages, soap and calendula. A needle and thread too, and hurry. I'm going to get these blankets off of her and see if there's anything I can do." Vanya was halfway out the door by the time Sanewen had finished speaking.

Sanewen pealed the blankets off of Tauriel's limp frame. The elfling's sunken stomach was covered in blood that was still secreting out of her wound. The young elf had somehow gotten ahold of a knife and reopened her wound. Sanewen reached out and grabbed a pair of scissors that Vanya had placed on a table near the bed that also contained the supplies that Sanewen had asked for. Water was heating on the hearth in the far end of the room. Sanewen carefully clipped the bandages from both sides of the elfling's waist and lifted them off, not daring to move the elfling. She took one of the cloths and dipped it in the water, and washed the blood off of the elfling. More blood was emerging by the second, but at least Sanewen had some idea of what was going on.

The neat stitches that Sanewen had put in weeks earlier had been ripped apart, and the wound made larger, and deeper then before. Sanewen did not relish the thought of having to piece together the elfling's organs, but fortunately she did not have to. The would was deep, and had caused a lot of blood loss, but none of her organs were damaged, and the elfling was alive, for now.

Sanewen instructed Vanya to make a paste out of the calendula to help stop the bleeding. Once Vanya had handed her it, Sanewen spread the herb paste on the wound. The bleeding slowed slightly, but did not stop. Sanewen washed the torso of the elfling once more, and proceeded to stitch the elfling back up. She bandaged the elfling once more, and prayed that her efforts would succeed.

winima tinu = little star

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Hi! It's been a while. Just so you know, the hiatus notice still applies. This is my release fic, aka when I need to get things out of my head I write this fic, so I haven't entirely stopped updating, they're just going to be irregular. Sorry about the cliffhanger...kinda. Anyways, if you want to know what happens, PM me. I won't spoil anything in the A/N because not everyone likes spoilers. I'm not too good with the medical stuff so I probably got things way wrong, let me know if you can provide any insight! Remember to review, favorite, and follow! Starship T.A.R.D.I.S. out!


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